Easy Ways to Workout at Home: At Home Workout Resources

A lot of people are currently trying to balance our new life with working remotely from home, homeschooling kids, and also working out at home.

Personally, I never found the motivation to workout at home.

I’m someone that isn’t just naturally motivated to workout. I’ve found that over the years, going to workout classes is really the key to push me through a tough workout, that and taking the dog on daily walks is how I really can make sure I’m working out daily. Other than that, it’ll take a miracle to get me in the mood to workout.

Life is definitely different at the moment and unfortunately gyms are closed, which means no workout classes.

This means I have to rely on myself to stay motivated.

If you’re like me and find it hard to get motivated to workout, or just trying to stay mentally and physically fit during this difficult time, I’ve listed a few ideas of ways you can Workout at Home along with resources I like to use to motivate me to workout at home and hopefully help you do the same!

Luckily, one of the essential reasons most of us are allowed to leave our homes during this time is for exercise.

This is a great excuse to get out of the house and get some fresh air because other than medical appointments, grocery trips, there’s not many other reasons you can leave the house and get outside.

Go on Walks or Outdoor Runs

Getting outside and going for a walk or a hike is my exercise of choice. I like to take my pup on a walk every single day for both of our sanity and it’s great to get out and move our bodies early in the morning. I personally find that I need to go on a walk early in the morning because even if I’m not doing anything that day, it’s super easy to talk myself out of going on one as the day progresses.

Especially with everyone’s schedule being screwed up, implementing a morning walk with you, your dog, partner, roommate or just by yourself and a podcast, is a great way to start your day on the right track.

I’ve mentioned before in my How to Work Remotely from Home post how much I love my Apple Watch, for being productive during the day but I also especially love using it to keep track of my exercise throughout the day as well. The outdoor walk function on my watch tracks how many calories I’ve burned along with how long and how far I’ve been walking. I find that this is not only great to keep my accountable for how long I walk, but also help me make sure I’m reaching my workout goals.

Every morning, I make a goal to make sure I walk at least 1 mile.

You can do the same thing with a morning run, even if it’s a short one. You could also do either of these activities on a treadmill, but with weather permitting, getting outside and going for a walk will do a lot more for you mentally than staying on a treadmill inside of your house.

Just make sure you’re staying in line with the social distancing regulations that your government has put in place.

Go for a Bike Ride

Another way to get out of the house and change of scenery is go for a bike ride. A bike ride is especially great with the whole family and get you outside and moving for a long period of time. I definitely find that with bike rides I can ride for a lot longer than a walk so you can even take the whole afternoon, get a change of scenery and go for a nice long bike ride. It doesn’t feel like you’re getting a workout in, but you definitely are.

At Home Workouts

There are tons of resources and workout plans on Pinterest, YouTube and App that help you workout from home. Most of the time all you need is a mat and some free weights or even just your body weight to get in a great full-body workout.

If you’re someone like me who struggles with motivation, implementing a workout schedule with your partner, roommate, parent or anyone living with you at the moment is a great way to stay accountable and both of you stay healthy.

Some great YouTube workout channels include: Blogilates, Whitney Simmons and Madfit.

It’s important to note that working out is not only great for your body physically, but also mentally. That’s why, regardless of your previous fitness routine prior to this pandemic, getting your daily exercise will benefit you so much more during this time, especially mentally.

Contact Your Gym for Equipment

This option may not work for everyone, but if you’re a member of a gym, contact your gym to see if they’re interested in renting out equipment during this time. Especially if you’re a member of a smaller family-owned style gym, they may be more up for this arrangement rather then a large chain gym.

I’m lucky enough that my gym that I’m apart of and take weekly spinning classes from allowed us to rent spin bikes to keep at our homes for $5 a week. It’s great because I was actually looking at purchasing a spin bike myself because I didn’t want to go too long without spinning, but didn’t have the space to store the bike long-term. It’s great that for the time being I’m able to continue spinning in the comfort of my home without the long-term commitment of storing large workout equipment.

Zoom Workout Classes

Whether your gym allows you rent out gym equipment or not, see if your gym or yoga studio is offering online workout classes. My spinning instructor is offering Zoom spinning classes the same time as our normal classes since the gyms have been shut down. Although it’s not the same experience as in class, I find myself a lot more motivated having my instructor real-time telling us what to do and pushing us during the workout. Like I mentioned, I definitely lack self motivation, so having an instructor, even virtually, is better than nothing.

I’ve seen a lot of people on Instagram offering yoga and other workout classes to their clients so definitely reach out to your local studio and see if they’re doing the same.

Another option if you aren’t apart of a studio or your gym isn’t offering online classes, is reach out with your friends and do a Zoom workout with your friends to keep yourself all accountable and also give you some socializing as well. More people are utilizing Facetime, Zoom and video chatting for socializing so might as well use it for working out too.

Have a Goal

This time is difficult for everyone but having a goal to focus on is great to keep your mind off of certain things and stay focused and distracted. It also helps me personally stay motivated. I’m definitely not someone who always sets goals when it comes to working out, but in certain cases of working out at home, I’ve been implementing goals more into my workout routine to stay consistent. Some goals I’ve set for myself is walking 1 mile every morning, getting my heart rate up to a certain number during a Zoom spin class, or getting 30 minutes of exercise every single day.

You may set goals for a certain weight, running a certain amount of time or lifting a certain amount. Just giving yourself a goal, regardless of what it is, is a great way to keep yourself motivated during this time.

Invest in a Home Gym

If your gym isn’t offering equipment for rent and you’re looking to invest in gym equipment either because none of us know how long this is truly going to last or because you’re wanting to continue working out at home post-stay at home order. If any of those are the case, then investing in some at home gym equipment is a great option to continue working out at home.

Amazon is currently my go-to, as it is for many people for home delivery. Amazon has some great gym equipment from free weights to spin bikes.

I’ve included some great equipment options below.

Don’t Be Too Hard On Yourself

We all operate differently and some people do well being tough on themselves and truly sticking to a tight workout routine and others done. Personally, I think a lot of people are under a lot of stress at the moment and after all, the world is going through a pandemic. This isn’t a normal time to workout from home. That being said…

take everything day by day

Some days you may not feel like doing a HIIT workout so you don’t need to. However, try going for a walk outside instead. Just focusing on getting out and moving, regardless if it’s much or not, it will in return do a lot for your mentally which is what we should all be focused on during this time.

Taking care of ourselves during this uncertain time and working out at home is one of those ways we can take care of ourselves.

I hope this post helped give you some motivation and some inspiration on how to workout at home during this crazy time. I’m focusing at the moment not working out for myself physically, but more mentally. With having my schedule and routine completely thrown out the window, having some structure like a weekly virtual workout class or a mile morning walk everyday, has been great for my body physically and mentally and something that I think you would benefit from as well.